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J. H. DALE. GRIP CARRIAGE POR. CABLE RAILROADS. No. 864,490. Patented June '7, 1887.` V-.f

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' J. H. DALE.

GRIP GARRIAGE POR CABLE RAILROADS.

N0..364,490. Patented Jule 7, 1887.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OEEIcE.

` JOHN H. DALE, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-V HALF 'IO EDYVARD D. DOUGHERTY, OF SAME PLACE.

GRIP-CARRIAGE FOR CABLE RAILROADS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 364,490, dated June 7, 1867.

Application ilcd December 9, 1886. Serial No. 221,108.

To @ZZ whom it' may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN H. DALE, of Philadelphia, in the county of Philadelphia and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in GripOarriages for Cable Railways; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and

- exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it 1o appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to an improvement in grip-carriages for cable railways.

The object of my presentinvention is to construct a grip-carriage that will obviate the i5 shock incident to the sudden closure of the grip upon a moving cable, and permit such a closure to prevent slip and consequent wearl ofthe cable, starting the car with a gradual in crease of motion until the maximum speed of 2o the cable is effectively transmitted to the attached car. y

A further object is to provide a grip-carriage that will allow a grip mechanism to be rigidly and suddenly clamped to a running cable without shock or jar, and that will work with equal certainty when the car is run in either direction.

Afurther object is to construeta gri p-carriage that will permit thesndden closure ofthe gripjaw without shock, `and that will afford yielding compensation for side sway of the car on curves, and thus accommodate the lateral vibration necessary to run an attached car on a curve and conform thereto without binding or strain ofthe connected and operating parts of the mechanism.

A further object is to furnish a grip-carriage that will afford the advantages hereinbefore enumerated, and that is of a simple,

4o strong, and reliable character, that will per mit ready access to its wearing parts for repair.

A further object is to construct a gripcarriage that will permit vertical adjustment of the supported grip-body to align it with a cable, and thus permit the picking up of the cable by the mechanism of the grip apparatus.

With these objects in view my invention consists in certain features of construction and combinations of parts, as will be hereinafter 5o described, and pointed out in the claims.

In the drawings making apart of this speci- (No model.)

iieation, Figure lis aside elevation of the gripcarriage. Fig. 2 is a plan view of the device. Fig. 3 is a cross-section of the carriage on the line t x', Fig. I. Fig. 4 is a view of the togglo-gear used to elevate and lower the gripcarriage. Fig. 5 is a cross-section of the carriage, showing a modified form ofits bearing-flanges.

In the drawings, It representsstring-pieces, preferably of timber, that are secured together by the cross-pieces E', these together constitnting a rectangular frame that is supported by pedestals and journal-boxes to iit the axlejournals upon which this frame is supported. Upon the inner sides of the frame-pieces R, that face each other, the journal-brackets .I are secured, any suitable number being employed. The journals g of the brackets .I are made to support the bearing-wheels J2.

A rectangular frame, F, of metal 0r other suitable material, is constructed, having its sides channeled to form anges 1 2 8 4. The frame F is supported upon the wheels J 2 by the adjustment of its top flanges, l 2, to bear on the wheel-faces, as shown in Fig. 3. At a point central between the wheel-brackets on each side piece, R, semi-elliptic plate-springs NV, of proper size, are secured, preferably 'by a bolt, b, inserted through acentral perfora- Se tion made in each spring-leaf. These springs are slotted at their free ends a sufiicient distance lengthwise to permit these bifurcated ends ,to be made to engage the rear faces of the wheels J2 and press, them outward upon their journals, washers w being introduced between the spring ends and the inner faces of the wheel-hubs to form an anti-friction surface.

The wheels J2 are normally held by the springs W in ru nnin g contact with the collars u, (see Fig. 2,) that are formed on the outer ends of the journals g', these journals being made of sufficient length to allow a proper rearward movement thereon of the wheels .I2 when the lateral sway of the grip-carriage causes this movement and consequent compression of the springs WV.

A modified form of the bearing-flanges on the grip-carriage is shown in Fig. 5. In this io@ projecting bearing-face on each side to support the carriage on its wheels.

At each end of the rectangular frame F the vertically-depending guide-bars G are fixed at the center of these ends of the frame.

Below the frame F the horizontal arms B are placed in proper connection with the guides G. These arms B are attached at right angles to the grip-body A, and are intended to hold this body in an upright position in relation to its sustaining-frame F thereon.

Upon the inner faces ofthe frame F the upper ends of the toggle-levers M are pivoted, the-lower limbs, M', of these toggle-levers be ing swing-connected to the inner faces of the horizontal arms B. Two longitudinalv bars, N, are pivoted to thejoincd levers M M' in a manner to permit the oscillation ofthese levers by an endwise motion of the bars N N. (See Fig. 2.) y

A reversing-lever, O, in connection with a quadrant, I?, constructed in the best approved form for such a device, is pivoted to the end of the bar N', to afford a means of vertical secured adjustment of the grip-body A at any point within the range of the appliance.

At a point to the rear of the quadrant-stand P upon the frame-timbers R the cylindrical chamber'S is mounted. This chamber is divided by a partition, S', into two compartments. In the lower portion of the cylinder the plunger-head K is introduced, suitable packing being provided at its periphery to lfDorm a tight joint with the bore of the cham- To the lower end of the headK a plungerrod, U, is pivoted. The lower end of this rod U is pivoted to the two-throw bell-crank I, that is placed on a stud, I. The lower limb, I2, of the bell-crank I is pivotally secured to a connecting-bar, H, the opposite end of this bar being slotted of a length equal to the vertical travel of the plunger-head K. The slotted end of the connecting-bar H is slidingly connected to a projecting stud that is secured to the lower side of the arms B at the point C. Upon the upperlimb, J3, of the bell-crank I the connecting-bolt 7s is pivoted onto the fulcrumbolt that secures the connecting-bar H' to this limb J3. A spring, 1*, is secured-to the other end of the bolt k. This spring is designed to afford a means for the quick return of the plunger K to its normal position o f depressed adjustment.

rlhe transverse dividing-partition S' is perforated with two apertures of proper diameter. The aperture K3 has a valve-seat formed on its lower edge, and a valve that is spring-supported in contact with this seat is made to tit the same with a tight joint.

The aperture K4 has a valve-seat made upon the top surface of the wall S around the edge of this perforation, and has a valve, K5, fitted to it that is adapted to bear downward upon this seat A spring-attached connection, o, made between this valve and the screw and hand wheel L', permits a graduated adjustment of the valve to restrain the escape of oil or other liquid from the lower chamber, .,K', into the upper compartment.

The upper compartment of cylinder S has asufiicient amount of glycerine or other noncongealing liquid introduced therein to fill the vacant space in the lower chamber that represents the reciprocal travel of the plungerhead K.

In operation the normal position of thcgripping-jaws of the cable-grip is above the horizontal plane yof the running cable, and in order to depress the bodyA of the grip apparatus and permit its pick-up device to operate upon the cable the supporting-armsB are lowered by an adjustment of the lever O inregard to the rack or quadrant I), and secured insuch adjusted position by the engagement of the locking-toe c in the notches of the quadrant.

Vhen the cable has been gripped by the clamping-jaws of the grip apparatus, of which A is the vertical body, the sudden progressive motion communicated to the grip-carriage F will cause it to move upon the supportingwheels J2 in the direction oi' cable travel, the connecting-bar H will receive and communicate motion to the bellcrank I, which will cause an elevation of the plunger K in its cylinder, and the compressed liquid in the lower chamber will be forced by the impact of the plunger-head through the orifice Kt.

The valve K5 being properly adj usted to effect a graduated escape of the liquid into the upper chamber, L3, the average speed of the cablev being known, a spring compression is made upon the valve K5 to regulate the degree of resistance necessary, and thus afford an adequate cushion l" to neutralize the shock orjar incident to the quick clamping action of the gripjaws when a sudden attachment of these jaws is made to the running cable.

The position of relative parts, as just described, is maintained while the grip apparatus is in closed adjustment with the moving cable. When the car is stopped by a release of the cable, the spring I", by its retraetile force, causes the plunger-head K to descend in the lower chamber, and by reason of the vacuum induced the liquid in the upper chamber will be drawn through the orifice K3 into the lower chamber, thus restoring all the parts to a normal position, as the length of the connecting-rod II is so relatively proportioned to the throw of the crank I that the rearward vibration of the lower limb, I, of this bell-crank I will restore the grip-carriage F to its central position with regard to its carrying-wheels J 2.

Vhen a car is to be run in an opposite direction, the cable-draft on the grip-body will be reversed, and the lever H' will pull the top end of the bell-crank and cause the plungerhead K to ascend in the cylinder. The operation of cushioning the jar of a sudden grip motion will be the same as when the car was run forward instead of the reversed movement v just explained.

IOS

IIO

When the car to which this device is attached is running on a curve, the sway or side motion of the car-body will be compensated for by the provision of the semi-elliptic springs XV, as these will yield to the Weight thrown on their ends by the impinge of the flanges of the wheels J2, the springs being made of a proper length and strength to allor this lateral motion and cause the grip-carriage F to assume a normal position when the strain is removed from these springs.

Slight changes may be made in the constructive details of this device and their arrangement somewhat altered without a departure from the spirit of my invention. I therefore do not wish to restrict myself to the exact forms shown; but,

Having fully described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is,d

1. rlhe combination, with a grip-carriage supported on wheels and adapted to move longitudinally, of a vertically-movable gripbodymounted on said carriage, substantially as set forth.

2. The combination, with a flanged frame and two depending guides, of a grip-body mounted on said guides.

3. The combination, with a angcd frame mounted on wheels secured to a car-frame, of springs adapted to bear against the rear faces of the wheel-hubs, substantially as set forth.

4. rIhe combination, with a flanged frame, wheels that support the frame, and springs to act on the hubs of the wheels, of two guides on the frame and a grip-body slidingly supported on these guides, substantially as set forth.

5. The combination, with a grip-carriage supported on wheels and adapted to move longitudinally, and avertically-movable grip 8. The combination, with a lianged and Wheel-supported grip-carriage and a suspended grip-body, of a hydraulic chamber having two compartments and actuating mechanism that causes the expulsion of liquid from one chamber to the other, substantially as set forth.

9. The combination, with the timbers of a car and a fianged rectangular frame that has rolling support, a suspended grip-body that has vertical guides, toggle-gear to give upanddown motion to the movable frame, and a yielding lateral support for the bearing-Wheels of the flanged frame, of a cylindrical double-compartment hydraulic chamber, two valves, a pressuregraduator for one of the valves, a plunger-head for the cylinder, a three-limbed bell-crank, two connecting-rods for this bellcrank, and a spring-retractor for the plungerhead, substantially as set forth.

In testimony whereof I have signed this specification in thc presence of two subscribing witnesses.

JOHN H. DALE. 

